Change Is Constant: Direction of Change is a Choice

Proverbs 9:9 (AMP) Give instruction to a wise man and he will be yet wiser; teach a righteous man (one upright and in right standing with God) and he will increase in learning.

The acquiring of wisdom is a journey, not an event. The journey is not only revealing about “self” but also about the shape and expression of a leader’s ethics.

Our progress in life is a result of our choices and our willingness to learn from them. Employees and customers often teach us about the ethical framework (righteousness) we use to respond to “change.” Customer service, for one example, is a practical expression about a leader’s heart.

Servant-leaders must learn to discipline her/himself to continue to learn. These leaders work at body, mind and spirit congruence. They actively acquire the skills they need and hone the ones with which they have been endowed by their Creator. They become aware of the patterns of their behavior and the impact a behavior has on others.

The result for the Biblically based leader? They will behave in a way that:

• Expresses love for God (obedience)
• Demonstrates their love for the “neighbors.” (Isn’t that the essence of customer-service – looking out for their needs, before our own?)

An outcome? Their leadership will be clothed in justice and righteousness. Employees will be free to make customer-oriented decisions that benefit the firm. Customers will be attracted to companies that “do business right.” Families will be nurtured and grow the love God.

Are you consistently learning and growing? Or, have you become stagnate?


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell

Leaders Are Always Learning

Proverbs 1:5 (NASB) A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel…

Life-long learning is an attribute of leadership – especially of those seeking to hone their skills as a servant-leader.

From recorded history, wisdom has been institutionalized, and with good reason. The wise were about sharing, training and producing wise people. We learn from history. We learn from the imbued wisdom of intact teams who have been with an organization for years.

Leadership foresight is an attribute of Greenleaf’s servant-leader and is the result the synergy between the lessons of the past and the realities of the present. These are connected in such a way that the potentials for both intended and unintended consequences in the future represent the right thinking at the right time and in the right manner.

Note the parallel construction in the second phrase in Pr 1:5 The word counsel is used only in Proverbs and Job and means to guide, and direct with the attributes of right thinking and experience in decision making.

Increase in learning. Acquiring counsel. Are you a life-long learner?


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell